TNW Aero Survival Rifle 1911
Pistol Caliber Carbine Uses 1911 Magazines
The multi-caliber TNW Aero Survival Rifle (ASR) may well be the
best takedown survival pistol caliber carbines available, while the
newest version in .45 ACP uses 1911 magazines.
TNW Firearms developed the Aero Survival Rifle (ASR) around the concept of a versatile multi-caliber weapon that could be taken down for very compact storage inside an aircraft and be fully assembled in moments to deliver accurate fire on the target.
Adaptable to nine calibers, rugged and simple, it was designed to be a capable performer in self-defense and small- or large-game hunting roles. Only the tubular aluminum universal upper receiver is considered a firearm. By switching barrels and sometimes magazines, bolt heads and trigger groups (the latter is actually a complete lower receiver assembly), it is easily convertible between nine chamberings — .17 HMR, .22 Magnum, 22LR, 9mm, .357 SIG, .40 S&W, 10mm, .45 ACP and .460 Rowland. Previously, all ASR models used GLOCK pattern magazines. The new ASR-1911 is unique because it uses 1911 magazines, making it the perfect PCC companion for anyone who favors this tried-and-true platform and caliber.
While magazine compatibility with a sidearm wasn’t an original specification for the ASR, its use of GLOCK magazines made it an excellent companion long gun for those who already owned a GLOCK pistol. This became more important in the wake of the COVID chaos urbanites experienced in the recent past.
When rioters and looters threaten life and property, a handgun suddenly doesn’t seem like much protection.
Pistol caliber carbines were a practical solution for many urban, self-defense-oriented gun owners looking to up their firepower, maintain commonality of scarce ammunition, and limit over-penetration to reduce the threat of unintentionally injuring innocent people. Now, those old-school shooters who turn to the .45 ACP 1911 when trouble is brewing can get the full benefit from an ASR PPC just like GLOCK owners.
The ASR can be broken down or assembled in
seconds and will return to zero every time.
The ASR is semi-automatic, blowback operated, simple and rugged, easy to assemble and maintain without tools, weighs 5.6 lbs. empty without sights and is adaptable to right or left side ejection/safety operation. It is very reliable, but some loads may require tuning by shortening the recoil spring until the action cycles fully. If you intend to use the 1911 ASR for self-defense or survival purposes, the gun is already set up for the hotter loads you would want for those purposes and I wouldn’t recommend cutting down the spring.
The stock trigger pull of the ASR measured only 5 to 5.25 lbs., but it’s not what you would describe as crisp. When slowly squeezed, it had a discernible bump at about the middle of the pull giving it the feel of a military two-stage. During my accuracy testing, I treated it like two-stage by drawing up to the bump, perfecting my sight picture and then squeezing through the creep to the break. In rapid fire plinking at water jugs, I didn’t notice this idiosyncrasy at all. TNW told me their standard trigger is designed for safety rather than precision target shooting. Like a mil-spec M16 rifle trigger-pull, your finger is working to first draw the hammer fully rearward before the sear surfaces can begin disengaging. TNW offers a match trigger upgrade kit for $45, but I suspect shooters accustomed to the trigger-pull of typical striker fired guns will find the standard trigger comparable to most, and an improvement over others.
I tested the ASR’s ability to hold its zero after repeated removal and reinstallation of the barrel. Shooting from the bench at 50 yards, I could see no noticeable change in my bullet’s point-of-impact regardless of how many times the barrel was taken off and re-installed.
The ASR 1911 gun requires no tools to field strip. The ASR upper and
lower are joined with two tensioned pins but the pins are easily lost
so Frank advises to pack an extra set or two.
The ASR barrel is held in the front of the receiver by a screw in ratcheting barrel-nut similar to those on the vintage UZI, STEN or M3 submachine guns. That much is old school. A new and patented feature unique to the ASR allows it to consistently return to its previous zero after breakdown and reassembly. This is achieved by machining mating cones on the barrel and barrel-nut to consistently center the barrel in the receiver with even pressure at all points. A steel guide pin in the receiver slides into a mating indexing slot on the barrel to insure the conical contact surfaces are always oriented the same way during assembly. It’s a brilliantly practical piece of engineering.
The ASR is intended to be used with optics and has 9.5″ of Picatinny rail milled directly into the top of the receiver. The front of the receiver has mounting points for individual proprietary 3″ rail sections at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. One rail is included with the gun.
The gun is a masterpiece of uncluttered, minimalist design. TNW allows the customer to decide where and how much accessory rail they want. One piece is all I needed to install a tactical light, or perhaps a light/green targeting laser combination unit. On pistol versions of the ASR, some opt for a vertical foregrip or hand-stop for an additional margin of safety.
By the way, the ASR doesn’t come with iron sights. Consider installing lightweight fold down MAGPUL MBUS back-up iron sights for emergencies. With irons, the ASR has the sight radius of a 6″ revolver and that’s not going to let you realize its full accuracy potential.
It turns out adapting a modern semi-auto PPC to a 113-year-old magazine design is more challenging than you would expect. After months of research, testing and slow-motion video studies conducted by TNW president Tim Bero, a suitable engineering solution emerged to allow reliable feeding from a wide variety of 1911 magazines. In my accuracy and reliability testing, I used five different brands of magazines, each noticeably differing from the other in minor details along with eight different types of ammunition, none of which was traditional 230-grain ball.
The five magazines Frank tested visibly differed in the details of
follower and feed lip shape as well as capacity. One of the challenges
of developing the ASR 1911 was ensuring it would work with all magazines.
Frank focused on feed-testing the more challenging bullet designs
like the conical flat nose and hollow-points shown here. The Winchester
PDX-1 JHP isn’t recommended but the others worked perfectly.
I had only two failures to feed. The first was with Winchester PDX-1 230-grain JHP. In the first magazine tested, one of its stubby, rounded castellate-orifice bullets wouldn’t present itself for chambering, nosediving as the bolt drove it forward. I’ve had feeding trouble with this round before in pistols so the malfunction came as no surprise. I did no further testing with it.
My second failure to feed was weirdly specific to one load in one magazine in one position. I found the first, and only the first, round of Federal Premium 230-grain HST JHP loaded into an extended 10-round magazine insistent on nosediving. Other loads fed fine and the Federal fed fine from other magazines. It shot well, averaging velocities of 1,064 feet-per-second and five shot groups of 2.3″ fired from a bench rest at 50 yards. The same load fired from a 4″ barrel pistol averaged 861 fps, which gives you an idea of what the ASR’s 16.5″ barrel is doing for you in terms of velocity gain.
The other six loads worked perfectly in all the magazines. The best performers were Hornady Custom 200-grain XTP JHP averaging 1,065 feet-per-second and 2.5″ groups, and Remington Golden Saber Black Belt 230-grain JHP averaging 949 feet-per-second and 2.2″ groups.
The ASR 1911 has a $749 MSRP as a stand-alone firearm, but its unique components — bolt head and lower receiver assembly — can be also be purchased à la carte or as components of a package deal covering a range of caliber conversion parts with one receiver. The ASR’s 6061 T6 aluminum upper and lower receiver come anodized in your choice of black, grey, dark earth or OD green.
